


Visceral

by Word_Devourer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Featuring very little information about the actual content of Oblivio, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Idiots in Love, In which memories are not erased (They're just marked inaccessible), Memory Loss, Mutual Pining, Of course it's all in a single chapter so not for too terribly long, Probably also qualifies as, Seriously unrepentant fluff, post-Oblivio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 05:17:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18243134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Word_Devourer/pseuds/Word_Devourer
Summary: Neither Adrien nor Marinette has the slightest idea what happened when Oblivio attacked.All each of them knows is that they've been left with an aching love-sickness that they can't seem to shake.





	Visceral

**Author's Note:**

> In which I bring my emotional state back down by offloading it onto fictional characters.
> 
> Don't worry, they don't mind; not by the end of it.

Later, when he’s alone in his room, (except for Plagg, of course) he sits down, and tries to _remember._

He remembers… He remembers waking up, almost.  She was there, close to him.

 _No._   Not close.  Up against him.  He can still feel the warmth of it.

He closes his eyes.

This is how he was when he could remember again; holding onto Ladybug.  His hand twitches, weakly, as if remembering her touch.

Eyes closed…

His eyes open again.

He… Knew she was Ladybug, even before he saw her.  Didn’t he?

Yes.

Yes, he had.

The surprise, though, had only come after he’d had an instant to think about it.

So…

If he’d known she was Ladybug, _before_ he’d realized they weren’t together, had he thought…

Had he thought that they had _really_ been together?

Like, _together_ together?

He supposed that he must have.

He shook his head.

Of course that’s what he’d thought.

The question wasn’t why he’d…

Not why he’d thought they were together.  It was why she’d agreed.  He could still feel the strength of her arm around him, and… her hand… it had felt… _real_.

No, but he had to _think._ It was clear that Oblivio had wiped their memories.  Obviously.  But…  Had there been anything else?  Anything, like when Glaciator had attacked, that might have made it worthwhile to… _Pretend?_ Maybe, even to pretend so well that he’d even been able to fool himself.

Oblivio _had_ been two people; a couple, for that matter.  Maybe they really _had_ taken a leaf out of Glaciator’s book.  It wasn’t beyond the realm of plausibility.

Maybe he’d been deluding himself.

And… Even when he saw her in school tomorrow, it wouldn’t help, because _she didn’t remember anything either._

He groaned, flopping onto his back in bed.

There was every chance that Ladybug didn’t know _herself,_ and if _she_ didn’t know, how was she-

He experienced the peculiar sensation of falling straight onto his face and knocking the wind from his lungs, without moving in the slightest.

He jolted upright in bed, eyes wide.

_Something._

_Something had…  had…_

Gone.

He wanted to look back through his most recent thoughts, but it wasn’t like he had them written down.

Not recorded, not spoken, nothing to tell him what had seemed so important.  Gone like his memories of Oblivio.

He laid back down, in the vain hope of reconstructing his own thoughts.

There was no such luck.

It seemed that his own memories were as inaccessible to him as Ladybug’s.

\--

Marinette wasn’t lying down, fruitlessly trying to recover her memories.

Rather, she was concerned with her own _actions._

_She had kissed Chat Noir._

Not to break a curse, or fool the villain (surely not, since Alya had been around to get a picture of it.)

And when she’d come back?  She’d been pressed into his chest, and the memory of his fingers slipped tightly between hers, the warmth of being that close to him, made her stomach flutter against her will.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the memory, but it only removed her vision of the present.  In her memory, she could still feel his arm holding her close to him, secure and… and _safe,_ and, she could feel his heartbeat, only barely out of rhythm with hers.

It almost brought a tear to her eye that…

That…

 _No._   Not because she wasn’t there now. Not because…

She let out a slow, shaking breath.

She was _fine._   Whatever had happened, had happened in strange circumstances.  Surely, blaming herself for what had happened would be like… Like she’d gotten blackout drunk, or something.

Maybe Oblivio hadn’t even erased her memories.  Maybe they had erased her whole personality, and the _new_ one had all of her missing memories.  That would explain why her memories had gone away when things had reset, right?

Then… The way she felt about her first memory wouldn’t have been _her_ feelings; not _really._

She closed her eyes, desperately trying to accept the idea.  Desperately trying to follow the only path that left her _sane._   Because she _wasn’t_ in love with Chat Noir, she was in love with _Chat Noir,_ and she wasn’t about to let some weird memories get in the way of that.

She blinked.

 _Adrien._   She was in love with _Adrien,_ not Chat Noir, not-

She was losing her mind.

She was losing her mind, and she couldn’t even ask Adrien for help because he didn’t remember, and-

 _Chat Noir.  She couldn’t ask Chat Noir for help,_ because he didn’t remember, and even if he did, she’d known ever since Glaciator had attacked that he really _did_ have a crush on her, which would have made things so complicated that she’d have needed _significant_ time to prepare.

It didn’t matter, because he _didn’t_ remember; he wouldn’t lie about it, and she’d seen enough of him lying to villains to know what it looked like, so even if he’d tried, he wouldn’t have gotten far.

She sat down on her chair, and sighed.

She pulled out her phone, and, hating that she was doing it, went to her most recent texts with Alya.

The most recent texts, of course, were her suggesting that it was too personal to post, but just above…

There, like a scar on her eyes.

_Why had she done it?  Why had she gone against everything she’d said, and done, and promised, and-_

_And why did it hurt so badly that she wasn’t kissing him now?_

She’d asked Tikki, but it was clear that she didn’t remember either, and if she had some insight, it was clear that she didn’t feel safe to speculate.

Which left Marinette…

It was like someone had a hand in her stomach, and was simply _dragging_ it through.  There was nothing she could do to stop it.

Tears burning at the edges of her eyes, she managed to stand.  She looked up at her bed, vision blurred, and realized that she didn’t even feel up to climbing the ladder.

Breath shaking, she collapsed onto the chaise longue, and curled in on herself.

She wanted to block out the not-words that kept running through her mind, but even with her hands over her ears, there was nothing for it.

Some part of her brain insisted that she _needed_ Chat Noir, and there was nothing else for it.

Even Adrien-

Her eyes flicked open, and…

She left out a shuddering breath.

Maybe… Maybe it wasn’t about Chat Noir.

Maybe it was just that the memory had been a potent reminder that she had had a crush on Adrien for so long, and had done _nothing_ about it.

Maybe that was why… Maybe that was why her memories of Adrien filled her with the same piercing pain as those of Chat Noir.

She managed to steady her breathing, slightly.

Okay.

Okay, this was…

Not fine, but, _better._

Marinette took a breath as deep as her relief.

Maybe this was even good.  It might be just the thing to make her _finally_ take the initiative with Chat Noir!

…

…l

_Adrien.  She meant Adrien._

\--

When Adrien woke up, he didn’t know why he was nervous.

When Adrien got ready for the day, he didn’t know why he was nervous.

When Adrien was driven to school, he didn’t know why he was nervous.

When Adrien walked into school, he didn’t know why he was nervous.

When Adrien stepped into the lockers, he didn’t know why he was nervous.

And when he abruptly came face to face with Marinette in front of her locker-

It felt like a sharp punch to the gut.

He managed to keep his feet, but he felt his face _burning_ red.

His breathing was a mess, but he managed to steady himself just enough to speak.

“Good morning, Marinette,” he said.

His only reprieve was that she seemed just as surprised to see him as he felt at her sudden appearance.

“Good morning, Adrien!” she said.

“Heh,” he said, “So, how about yesterday, right?”

_Stupid!  Stupid.  He went missing yesterday.  That’s the most suspicious question thing he could have said._

“Haha!” she said, “I know, right?  A villain erasing people’s memories, and everything!”

“Super-scary,” he agreed, “I kind of lost track of things.  Do you remember what happened?”

He realized, in retrospect, that she was blushing, as her face turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Nope!” she said, “I think Alya and Nino were playing some game, and…” _she worries slightly at her lip, and he really_ , _really wants to get a bit closer,_ “I don’t know, apparently they were embarrassed, or… Something like that!” her voice squeaked slightly, on the last phrase.

“Right!” he said, “Playing… What was it called… Super Penguino?”

She frantically nodded, eyes wide.

 _Is she okay?_   _She seems…_

The door opened, and Adrien jumped, realizing as he did so just how _close_ to her he’d been.

“Oh, hey dudes.”

Adrien spun around, coming face to face with what was, for Nino, a wide grin.

He laughed. “Guess I’m interrupting something.  Don’t worry about it, just imagine I’m not here.”  He slipped past, on his way to his locker.

He choked, _Nino had clearly thought that-_

“ _Nino!”_ he spluttered, face even redder than before, if that was possible.

His eyes darted over to Marinette, who was staring up at him in what could almost have been _terror._

Internally, he cursed whatever impulse had made him get that close.  He’d confused himself, he’d _scared_ Marinette, and he’d made Nino think that-

“We weren’t-“ he said, “I wasn’t-“

“Duude,” returned Nino, clearly amused, “don’t _worry,_ I _get it._   You guys haven’t seen each other in months, and when you do, the weather’s great out, and it’s all warm, and- trust me, same thing happened with me and Alya.”

 _“Nino!”_ managed Marinette.

“Well, you know what I mean, not the getting together part, but remembering why we liked being together, you know?”

“That’s not- it isn’t-

“No!” finished Marinette, about as eloquent as he’d been.

Nino stuck his head back around the lockers, and practically guffawed at the sight of them.  “Trust me, dudes, you’re not convincing me I’m wrong.”

“Wh-“

“Look.  You guys are way too red, and _way_ too close, and you jumped _way_ too high when I walked in for anything else.  I’m not gonna say I’m not oblivious (I mean, I missed Marinette’s whole crush thing for, like, a whole half a year), but trust me, I’m not _that_ oblivious.”

_Marinette’s crush!?  What had he missed!_

Marinette looked like she wanted to die, and Adrien was in the same boat.

Nino walked out of the room.

“Alright,” he called back, as the door closed behind him, “I’m out, just try not to be late to class; trust me, it is _awkward_ if someone comes looking for you at the wrong moment.”

The door shut.

There was a _long_ moment of silence.

“Uhhhh,” he said, looking down at her.

There was a long second as she looked back up at him.

Then, she let out a nervous giggle, and dropped down onto one of the benches.

He managed an uncertain laugh of his own, as he practically _fell_ against the lockers.  The metal was blessedly cold against his burning face.

“So,” he said, “That was…  Something.”

“Yeah,” she said, nodding.

“So, I guess…” he said, “Nino thinks…”

“Mhm,” she said.

“So…” he said, mind casting back, slightly, “he mentioned something about a crush?  For six months?”

She laughed the sound almost hysterical.  Then, after a second, “longer, actually.  Since… It didn’t, y’know, go _away_ after he found out about it.”

 “Well…” he said, “That’s… Interesting.  Does… Does Alya know about it?”

Marinette laughed, and for the first time since he accidentally utterly ignored her personal space, it sounded genuine.

“Of course!” she said, “She’s… Actually, she’s the only person I told personally.  She told Nino after the two of them got together; after Animan attacked.  You remember, right?”

“Yeah!  Yeah, I remember Animan.”  Adrien, still grasping around, grabbed onto an important point; _There was next to no way that Alya would have gotten together with Nino if that was who Marinette’s crush had been on._

So… Nino was talking about Marinette’s crush on someone else.

Well.

That was good to know, wasn’t it?

That seemed like the kind of thing a good friend would know about, right?

“So,” said Marinette, “I guess… I guess I kind of got in the way of you getting to your locker?”

“Oh!  Right,” he said, turning his forehead to the metal of what was, indeed, his own locker.  “I guess I got kind of off track.”

Marinette giggled.  “Yup.”

He cleared his throat.  “Well, I’d probably, I should probably… _Well._ ”  He opened his locker, and started searching for his possessions.

\--

Marinette didn’t have the slightest idea _what_ had just happened.  She was pretty sure Adrien knew she had a crush on him, and that Nino thought they were already together, and…

He’d been so close to her, just like…

Just like what?

It was like Chloe’s party, when they’d danced, except… Except she was thinking of something else.  She just couldn’t place _what,_ exactly.  Her right hand clenched, for reasons she couldn’t quite remember.

She stepped out of the room, trying to put her hair back in order, realizing as she did so that it hadn’t even been messed up.

Without a further word, she walked up to class, desperately hoping that her face looked a bit less like a cooked lobster than it had.  She didn’t dare wait, or look back, because _Adrien would probably be following her,_ and the light was better out here, so the probably already vain hope that he hadn’t realized how flustered she’d been would evaporate like so much mist under the sun.

She pushed into the classroom, and, head carefully angled down, made it to her seat.

_She needed a distraction, something to-_

There was a flash, accompanied by a click.

She looked up, to the sight of Alya leaning forward altogether too far, a grin on her face.

“That makes _two_ of my favorite pictures of all time in two days,” she said.

At Marinette’s expression, she pulled back, laughing.

“Come _on_ , girl,” her voice dropped to a whisper.  “I heard about what happened, but _what happened?”_

 _“Alya!”_ she cut back, managing to keep her voice below the level that should have drawn attention.

“Nino told me what he walked in on, _gutsy, I’ve got to say,_ and you _know_ I’ve got to hear the _story._ ”

“There _is no story,_ ” hissed Marinette, “Because _nothing happened.”_

Alya raised an eyebrow.

She turned.

“Hey, Nino, any chance you could give me another rundown on what happened?”

Nino laughed.  “Sure thing, dude; alright, so I walked in, and they were, like, _right up_ in each other’s faces, and-

“ _Wait,_ ” said Alya, putting up a finger, turning back to Marinette, “are you denying that?”

 _“Uh.”_   Marinette stared into her best friend’s eyes.  She sighed.  “ _No._ No, I’m not.”

“ _Okay…”_ Said Alya, and then turned back to Nino, “Okay, what was the next part?”

“Like, _as soon_ as I had the door opening, they, like, _jumped_ , way back, like they’d been caught doing something.”

“I was _surprised!”_

Nino laughed, “I didn’t know surprised made you turn _that_ red, dude.”

Marinette’s complexion, which had recovered slightly as she’d climbed the stairs and entered the classroom, was beginning to fall apart again.

“Yeah, like that, but _redder,”_ said Nino.

“And then?” said Alya, clearly not expecting her to deny how hard she’d been blushing.

“And then I was talking about-

“Hey Adrien!” squeaked Marinette, about an octave higher than normal.

Adrien managed a hasty smile, and then quickly went to his chair and sat down.  He looked about how she _felt,_ which was to say, embarrassed over nothing, because, and she had to stress this, _nothing had happened._

Unfortunately, she could make out Nino’s satisfied grin, and Alya’s still _not_ satisfied grin.

She shook her head frantically, hoping to forestall her next question; Adrien _really_ didn’t deserve this.

Alya gave her the look she always used when she was freaking out about nothing (admittedly, a regular occurrence) and turned to Adrien.

“So…” she said, “ _That_ took long enough.”

Adrien straightened up, and turned halfway to face her.  Marinette couldn’t quite see his face.

“What do you mean?”

“ _You_ know,” said Alya, playfully, “You, and Marinette… Nino told me, of course.  We’ve been wondering how _long_ it was going to take.”

“How _long?  I thought…”_   He turned a bit further, “I thought she had… A crush…”

Alya laughed.  “Big time.  I honestly can’t believe she held onto it as long as she did.  Kind of impressive, _all things considered_ ,” she said, with a light punch at Marinette’s shoulder.

“…Ah,” said Adrien.

\--

This was all going so wrong.  Marinette had a crush on someone, had _had_ a crush on someone, and because of _him_ , Nino thought that she’d given up on it, _for him._   He’d put himself in a position he didn’t want to be in, and he’d put _Marinette_ in a position that had to be even _worse._   He didn’t want to do that to _Marinette!_ He _loved_ Marinette, and that wasn’t-

He practically choked.

Bad choice of word.

Marinette was…  The best.  She’d proven again and again how capable and determined she was, and, of course, she was one of his best friends.  But it wasn’t like he was-

It wasn’t like he was in love with her.

Except, of course, that his _visceral_ reaction to the thought, which was to say his sudden stomach ache, seemed to suggest otherwise.

_No.  No.  He was in love with Ladybug, and it wasn’t fair to Marinette to pretend otherwise._

“Easy, dude,” said Nino, as he leaned forward over his desk, “You alright?”

“ _Yeah,”_ he managed, as his body rebelled at the implication that he wasn’t in love with Marinette, a moment that, more than most, qualified as _not alright._

“Mm,” said Nino, “I’m not sure, dude.  You look kinda sick.  Might be a time to get to a bathroom?”

_Get out of the room?  Leave Marinette behind?  He couldn’t afford to do that right now, of all times. He needed her to be-_

“You’re right,” he said aloud.  He needed to get some distance, if he was going to have the slightest chance of parsing _what was happening in his mind._

He stood up.

“Just… If anyone asks, just tell them I don’t feel well, okay?”

“Sure thing, dude,” said Nino.

He stood up, and hastily exited the room.

He knocked into the doorframe on his way out, and was grateful that most people had already gotten to their classrooms, because he wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to avoid running into _them_.

Okay.

Okay.

No, he’d be _fine._   It was probably a coincidence; it wasn’t like it made sense for some random thought to just _make someone sick._   That was… That would be _crazy!_

And… Of course, Marinette was great, and everything, but it wasn’t like she was even in love with him, was she?  He’d asked her, back when Glaciator had attacked, and she hadn’t said _anything_ to make him think it was a crush on her, and-

As Chat Noir, that was, it wasn’t like she’d known they were the same person, then.

It wasn’t like…

It wasn’t like she knew they were the same person _now,_ what was _wrong_ with him?

That was the question, wasn’t it.

He staggered into the bathroom, which was blissfully vacant.

He needed… He needed somewhere quiet, somewhere where he could _think,_ without being interrupted.

He pushed into a stall, and leaned back against the wall.

Slowly, _slowly,_ he slid down, until he was curled up, knees to his chest.

He let out a breath.

“Plagg?” he said.

Plagg slipped into sight.  “Yeah?”

“What’s happening?”

“Well, it looks like the girl likes you, and you’re going crazy.”

“Going crazy sounds right, at least,” he said, “but Marinette doesn’t like me.”

Plagg gave him a confused, annoyed look.  “You humans are weird.  See, me, when I hear that someone likes someone else, I assume that they probably do.  You lie sometimes, of course, so you can’t always be sure, but I thought these weren’t people you would expect that from.”

“ _Exactly,_ ” said Adrien, “and Marinette likes…  Someone.”

“You?”

“ _No!_ I know they were talking about how she did, but they were talking about how she ‘used to’ like someone, but there’s no reason she’d suddenly change from _them_ to _me._   They just thought she did because… I mean… I got too close, and I guess both of us were a little surprised that Nino came in when he did, and…”

Plagg gave him an unimpressed look.  “I don’t pay much attention to the people you talk to, but I’m pretty sure if _she_ thought it was too close, she would’ve done something about it.”

“I-“ Adrien cut off.  It was… True, that Marinette had always shown excellent presence of mind, and it was a little strange that she hadn’t pulled back.

Then again, though, he’d been too close, and it wasn’t like _he’d_ meant to be.  Maybe she’d just… Just lost track, like he had, or had been trying to figure out why one of her friends was so close to her face, or-

“There’s a _million_ reasons why she might not think to pull back,” he said.

“Mmmmm,” grumbled Plagg.

“It’s… Fine.  It’s fine,” he said.  “I can just tell Nino when I’m feeling a bit better that I’m as confused as Marinette probably is, and,” he grimaced, “I left her there, to explain herself, _alone_.”

“Eh.  She’ll probably be fine.”

“I know, but I’m not supposed to leave her alone like that!  We’re supposed to be a team!”

He brought his hands up to his head.

“Since when?” said Plagg.

“What?”

“’We’re supposed to be a team.’  That’s what you just said.  Since when?”

“Since…  I… I don’t know, I must have been thinking about Ladybug.”

Plagg snorted.  “Yeah, I bet you were.”

He took a breath.

“Okay…  Okay, I’m…  I’m going to be okay, and then-“

“Yo!” came a voice from the door.  “Adrien, you alright, dude?”

“Ah- yeah!  Yeah, I’m… Feeling a bit better.”

“Anyone else in there?”

Adrien’s gaze snapped to Plagg, who shrugged.

“No?”

“You sure?”

“Uh…”  The other stalls had all been open, and there had been nobody else in.  “Yeah?”

 _“Why are you asking him about- Agh!”_   Came Marinette’s voice, the last exclamation suddenly much louder and… More immediate.

There was a thud.

“Alright!” came Alya’s voice, as he heard someone struggling over by the door.  “I’ve been patient, I have _waited,_ I’ve been supportive, and let me tell you, I am _not_ letting this go on any longer.  Nino, don’t let them out until they’ve got things sorted out.”

Nino laughed.  “You got it, dude.”

\--

Marinette had had dreams of all descriptions, and with that, and being a superhero that faced off against all manner of monsters and villains, she should, by all rights, have just about seen it all.

And yet…

She pulled against the door handle.  It budged, slightly, but she couldn’t match Nino for strength.

“Come on, Nino,” she said.

Nino laughed.  “No can do, dude.”

_And yet she had not been prepared to be locked in a bathroom with Adrien Agreste, with the stipulation that she couldn’t leave until they had, quote ‘gotten things sorted out.’_

The two of them, working together, could probably have pushed past Nino, but…

But to do that, she’d need to talk to him anyway.

She took a few steps into the bathroom, quietly wishing that the lights were a bit brighter.

Feeling trepidation akin to a horror movie, she stepped, foot by foot, further into the room.

And then…

She could make out a pair of feet, just on the inside of a stall.  He was… Sitting on the ground, pushed into a corner.

“Adrien?” she said, gently.  “Are you… Okay?”

A pause.  “Feeling a bit better?  I just got a stomach ache, and thought… Well, I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, so I thought… Well, that’s why I’m here.”

“Right,” she said.  “Alya was saying it was… Well, you know Alya.  She thought you were just nervous about… You know, about being around for them to ask questions.”

“Oh.  I guess…”  He went silent for a long time.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” he said.

“For what?”

His voice was quiet.  “For… All of this.  For getting that close to you, and making you uncomfortable, and putting you in _this_ position, and making Nino think we were together when you…” his voice broke.

“I…” she said, and… _stopped;_ there was a quiet sound, one that she hoped was just her mind making things up.

But it wasn’t.

Adrien was crying.

She’d never… She didn’t think she’d ever seen him show any negative emotions worse than annoyance, like when Lila had…

“Adrien?” she said.

“Y- Yeah?” he choked.

She put a hand on the door.

“Can I… Can I come in?”

His breath hitched audibly.

“You… You don’t want to come in here.  I’m… I’m a mess.”

She closed her eyes, a tear slipping from the edge.

“I don’t care about that, Adrien.  Besides,” she said, trying to inject some trace of levity into her voice, “you’re a model.  I’m sure you still look amazing, even when you’re crying.”

The laugh was shaky, but encouraging.

She pushed on the door.

It swung.

And there, eyes scrunched shut, the rest of his face concealed by his knees, was Adrien.

She stepped inside.

The sight of him was…  Peculiarly painful.

Of course it was.  She didn’t like people in pain, and Adrien, of all people…

She knelt in front of him.

He was so close, and so… _Scared?_

“Adrien?” she said.

He didn’t respond, but for a faint noise which could have been nothing to do with her.

She reached, slowly, out, and… _Stopped._

Her hand was just above his knee.

She wanted, so badly, just to let it fall, to feel some kind of physical contact with him, but…

“Adrien?” she said, again.

His head sunk deeper into his knees.

She closed her eyes, and, slowly, carefully, let her hand sink onto his knee.

She felt him shudder, but…  He relaxed.

“Adrien,” she said, “I don’t… You don’t have to apologize.  For anything.”

“But…” he said, voice shaking, “You, you seemed so upset.  I thought you were, _scared,_ or, or, or _something.”_

She chuckled.

“ _Adrien,_ ” she said, “I’m not scared of you.  I trust you more than anyone.”

She was almost surprised to find that she meant it.  But… Who had her back more than him?

_Alya?  Didn’t Alya…_

Yes.  Maybe, except…

The sudden uncertainty seemed to muffle under the definite knowledge, unbounded by logic, that Adrien _certainly_ had her back.

Adrien huffed a laugh.  “Thanks.”

There was a long silence, and she could just feel the tension draining, drop by drop, from Adrien.

“Well,” she said, eventually, “guess we’re locked in again.”

“Yup,” he said.  “By Nino and Alya, again.”

She laughed, the sound covering the nagging uncertainty of what she was talking about.

“Do you think we should just push past him?” she said.

He laughed.  “I’d have to get up, first.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Not like I’d want to do that with you here.”

“Right,” she said, hand gently rubbing at his knee.

Something was definitely wrong; powerfully, clearly, wrong.

She didn’t know what they were talking about, she didn’t know why having her hand on his knee seemed so important.  She didn’t-

He was looking up, now.  The expression on his face was painfully familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

She didn’t know what he was thinking, or…

His hand slipped up, and on top of hers.

She couldn’t breathe.

He was looking at her, and he seemed, what, _scared?_

They were staring into each other’s eyes, practically unblinking.

Her hand slipped up, gently, without her direction, pressing palm to palm with his.

Confusion was rising with terror in her chest, the deadly sensation of a girl who didn’t have the slightest clue what she was doing.

And then…

Their fingers laced together.

And she was looking at Adrien Agreste.  At _Chat Noir._   The same person, the same…

And she knew he was looking at Ladybug just as much as Marinette.

He wasn’t crying, now.  He was just… staring, wide-eyed.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello,” she said.  “My name’s…” a laugh escaped her chest, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.  But you can call me Ladybug, anytime.”

He laughed.  “Adrien.  But please, feel free to call me Chat Noir.”

She laughed back.  “Sounds fine to me.”

Their grip on each other’s hands was almost painfully tight, but it was unthinkable that they would loosen their grip in the slightest.

“So,” she said, “you think this is because of Oblivio?”

“I bet,” he said, thumb rubbing against her hand.

“Well,” she said, “we’ll have plenty of time to figure everything out.  Later.”

“Hmm.”

“For now, we should probably get back to class before anyone gets any _more_ suspicious.”

“Yeah.  Yeah, we probably should.”

He looked down, as she made to stand up.

“But,” he said, rising as well, “It’s not like… Well, not like they’re going to get much more ‘suspicious,’ are they?”

She looked back at him, a smirk playing at the edges of her face.

“Not really,” she said.

“And… Nino’s probably going to have suspicions of his own, no matter _what_ we do.”

“Not to mention Alya.”

“Exactly, so…  It’s not like…” They were on their feet now, and it was such a confined space, there was practically no way for them to be anywhere but right in front of each other.  It wasn’t as if either of them had much choice but to be mere inches from the other one’s face, and, of course, it wasn’t often that it was noticeable, but people _were_ constantly swaying on their feet, just as a matter of being human, so it shouldn’t have been any surprise that the distance fluctuated, back and-

Oh, who were they kidding.

She didn’t remember the first thing about Oblivio, but she could almost hear Alya’s camera snapping the image again, feel the sun on her face, and…

The sensation of Chat Noir, _her_ Chat Noir, _Adrien,_ up against her, her lips on his, as she wrapped her free arm around him, even as he wrapped his around her.

And there they stood, as motionless as time itself felt.

She could have left her body behind, except for the anchor of their hands laced together.

She didn’t know if she was breathing.

She didn’t know if she was going to pass out.

Maybe she was.

She didn’t care.

Everything else could wait, because right now, she’d found something worth any obstacle the world could possibly throw at her.

And right now, the world was going to wait for _her._

For _them._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> If you enjoyed this story, and you'd like another like it, I'd suggest The Medusa Challenge, for these two fools falling in love with each other despite their best efforts. Or, if you'd prefer mutual pining and Alya and Nino attempting to overcome their friends' incredible aversion to handling their relationship issues, there's always Frozer: Alternate Ending.


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